MARSHALL, Texas – Opening the 2026 home season with two matches at the Tiger Invite, No. 12 East Texas Baptist University earned two wins moving to 5-3 on the year. They opened the day with a 3-1 win over Hendrix and followed with a sweep of Christopher Newport University.
ETBU 3, Hendrix 1
The ETBU Tiger Invitational got off to a roaring start Friday morning as ETBU defeated Hendrix 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-22) at Ornelas Gymnasium. The Tigers dropped set one before winning the final three sets and finishing with an imposing 16-5 advantage in total blocks.
Lara Hornsby led ETBU with 19 kills, 27.5 points, and four service aces while adding 13 digs and nine total blocks for a double-dobule.
Sadie Kasowski recorded 29 digs and added two service aces.
Anita Hancock finished with 11 total blocks, including one solo block, and added eight points.
Katherine Server posted 13 kills while hitting .480.
The Tigers pulled even at 20-20 on a Server kill from
Sydney Temple, but Hendrix scored five of the final six points to take the opening set 25-21. ETBU had erased a 12-8 deficit with a four-point response that included a Server kill and two Hornsby kills before Hendrix took the set.
ETBU answered a 7-4 deficit in the second set when Hornsby served three straight aces to give the Tigers an 8-7 lead, and after Hendrix tied it,
Allison Sims' kill from
Claire Stewart put ETBU ahead 9-8. Hendrix later got back within 24-23, but Hornsby finished the set with a kill from
McKinzie Riley for a 25-23 Tigers win.
After Hendrix tied the third set at 23-23, ETBU answered with a kill from Server off a Temple assist to reach set point and a Hornsby kill from Temple to finish the 25-23 set. The Tigers built a 13-5 advantage behind two Kasowski service aces and several assisted blocks involving
Kendall Kreusler, Hornsby, Hancock and Server earlier in the set.
Hornsby's early service turn helped ETBU move from a 4-3 deficit to a 7-4 lead, with the Tigers getting kills from Riley, Hornsby and Sims during the stretch in set four. Hendrix later pulled even multiple times, but ETBU did not falter, answering with kills from Server, Hornsby and Hancock before closing the fourth set 25-22 on a block by Hancock and Hornsby.
SET RECAP
First Set
- ETBU won the first two points on a Kreusler kill from Temple and a block by Hornsby and Kreusler, but Hendrix worked back to a 3-3 tie, and the teams traded points to 8-8.
- Hendrix moved ahead 12-8 after a successful kill and two Tigers attack errors, before Server and Hornsby recorded kills during a response that tied the set at 12-12.
- The set stayed tight through a 20-20 tie, with Server putting down two kills in that stretch, but Hendrix scored five of the final six points to take the set 25-21.
Second Set
- Hendrix moved from a 4-4 tie to a 7-4 lead, but ETBU worked back behind a Hendrix attack error and three straight Hornsby aces before Sims' kill made it 9-8 after Hendrix tied it.
- Hendrix briefly led 12-10, but Peyton LeJeune's ace tied the set at 12-12, and the teams continued point-for-point through a 19-19 tie.
- Server's kill put the Tigers ahead 20-19, and a Hancock block plus consecutive Hendrix attack errors stretched the lead to 23-19. Hendrix cut it to 23-22, but Hornsby delivered kills for the 24th point and the final point to close a 25-23 set.
Third Set
- ETBU built a 6-1 lead behind a Server kill, two Kasowski aces, and multiple blocks.
- A Hornsby ace and two Hendrix attack errors pushed the lead to 13-5 before Hendrix worked back within 15-12.
- The Tigers stayed in front with kills from Server, Hornsby, Sims and Riley, reaching 22-18 before Hendrix tied the set at 23-23.
- Server put ETBU back ahead 24-23 off a Temple assist, and Temple set Hornsby for the final kill in a 25-23 set win.
Fourth Set
- Hornsby served through four straight Tigers points, with kills by Riley, Hornsby and Sims helping turn a 4-3 deficit into a 7-4 lead.
- Hendrix tied the set at 11-11 on a Riley Brady ace, and the teams traded points through ties at 13-13, 15-15, 16-16 and 17-17.
- ETBU moved ahead 20-17 after a Server kill, a Kreusler-Hornsby block and a LeJeune ace, but Hendrix cut the margin to 21-20.
- The Tigers answered with a three-point push to 24-20, including a Hancock kill and a Hornsby kill, before Hancock and Hornsby combined on the final block to close the set 25-22.
ETBU Top Performers
Lara Hornsby
- 19 kills
- 4 service aces
- 9 total blocks
- 27.5 points
Sadie Kasowski
- 29 digs
- 2 service aces
Anita Hancock
- 11 total blocks, including 1 solo block
- 10 block assists
- 8.0 points
Katherine Server
- 13 kills
- .480 hitting percentage
- 13.5 points
Sydney Temple
- 25 assists
- 7 digs
ETBU 3, CNU 0
In the fourth match of the Tiger Invite, ETBU defeated Chris. Newport 3-0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-17), going 2-0 on the day. ETBU controlled this set from start to finish and used an 8-0 run in the third set to move a 2-1 deficit to a 9-2 lead
Hornsby led the Tigers with 11 kills and 12 points. Temple finished with 18 assists and 14 digs while converting both of her attacks. Hancock recorded seven kills, five total blocks, and 11 points. Kasowski served two aces and added nine digs and six assists.
ETBU took the first set 25-19 after answering CNU's early 4-3 lead and moving back in front on a three-point response capped by Hancock's kill. Hornsby led a balanced Tigers attack with four kills, while Server, Hancock and
Allison Sims each added three.
In the second set, the Tigers turned a 15-13 deficit into a 20-16 lead by winning seven of eight rallies. Kasowski served four straight ETBU points in that stretch, with Hornsby adding a kill and Kasowski recording an ace as the Tigers moved ahead 18-15. CNU tied the set at 24-24 and 25-25, but Server's kill put ETBU in front before an attack error finished a 27-25 set win.
The Tigers answered a 2-1 deficit in the third set with an 8-0 run, including seven straight service points from Kasowski, to move ahead 9-2. Hornsby had kills to pull ETBU even at 2-2 and later make it 9-2, while Temple, Hancock, and Kasowski also contributed points in the run. The Tigers finished the set at 25-17.
ETBU will host Southwestern (TX) tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 19, at 2 p.m. at Ornelas Gym.
SET RECAP
First Set
- ETBU opened with kills from Hornsby, Server, and Temple for a 3-0 lead before Chris. Newport answered with four straight points to move ahead 4-3.
- The Tigers responded with three of the next four points, including a Hancock kill, and stayed in front through the middle of the set.
- After ETBU moved ahead 16-13, kills from Hancock, McKinzie Riley, and Sims helped push the lead to 20-14.
- Chris. Newport scored three of four points to pull within 23-19, but Hornsby followed with a kill, and the Tigers closed the set 25-19 on an attack error.
Second Set
- ETBU traded points through the opening stretch and held a 9-8 edge after a point on Hancock's serve.
- Chris. Newport scored five straight on several successful serves to move ahead 13-9 and later led 15-13.
- The Tigers responded with five straight points, including a Hornsby kill and a Kasowski ace, to take an 18-15 lead before pushing the margin to 20-16.
- Chris. Newport rallied from 24-21 to tie the set at 24-24, but kills from Sims and Server helped ETBU finish the set 27-25 on an opponent attack error.
Third Set
- After Chris. Newport went ahead 2-1, Hornsby tied the set with a kill, and ETBU put together an 8-0 run to move in front 9-2; Kasowski served the final seven points of the stretch, including an ace.
- The Tigers kept the cushion through the middle of the set, getting kills from Claire Stewart and Riley, an ace from Hornsby and a block by Server and Sims before Hancock's ace made it 16-7.
- Chris. Newport trimmed the gap from 19-10 to 20-15, but ETBU answered with a Kendall Kreusler kill, a Hancock-Kreusler block and a Hornsby kill before a final attack error closed the set at 25-17.
ETBU Top Performers
Sydney Temple
- 18 assists
- 14 digs
- 2 kills on 1.000 hitting
Lara Hornsby
- 11 kills
- 12.0 points
- 1 service ace
Anita Hancock
- 7 kills
- 5 total blocks, including 1 solo
- 11.0 points
- 1 service ace
Kendall Kreusler
- 5 total blocks
- 2 kills
- 4.5 points
Claire Stewart
- 10 assists
- 1 kill on 1.000 hitting
- 3 digs
